CNI News
March 26, 2026
U Hla Swe, a member of parliament (Hluttaw), said that the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) aims to govern the country for more than five years while working to promote national development.
The USDP secured victory in the 2025 general election, enabling it to form both the parliament and the government.
However, critics point out that, in practice, the formation of the parliament and government followed arrangements planned by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
U Hla Swe said: “From the beginning, we believed in this approach. But during President U Thein Sein’s administration, he amended the election law and allowed the NLD to participate. The NLD’s five-year term in power created many problems. They carried out actions that damaged the country. Everyone already knows this, so there is no need to repeat it. We will work hard during these five years to develop the country. From 2010 to 2015, Myanmar was even described as a rising tiger in Asia due to its rapid development. That progress collapsed during Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s time. We want to avoid such setbacks. We are setting long-term goals—five years, ten years, fifteen years, even twenty years. We will work to win votes, develop the country, and earn public trust. If the people do not trust us, they will not vote for us. So we must prove ourselves through development. I can guarantee that we will work for progress and attract public support.”
Some members of the USDP
Political analyst Sai Main criticized U Hla Swe’s remarks, saying they lacked statesmanship and warning that cooperation between the military and the USDP could lead to a return to past political patterns.
He said: “Historically, authoritarian systems have operated for long periods whenever they had the opportunity. Under the one-party system, the country was ruled from 1962 to 1988 for nearly 30 years, until the 1988 uprising. During the SLORC and SPDC eras, even after the NLD won the election, power was not transferred, and the military retained control for decades. Similarly, the military and the Burma Socialist Programme Party once ruled together for around 30 years. Now, with the military and the USDP working together again, it cannot be ruled out that a similar situation could emerge. The current election and parliament appear largely symbolic, so such an outcome remains possible. In general, political parties tend to promote themselves by criticizing others. But his remarks seem more like an attempt to discredit the opposing side. Such statements are not very statesmanlike and do not reflect the behavior of a smart politician.”
Leaders of the NLD party
The Union Solidarity and Development Association was originally formed on September 15, 1993, and later transformed into the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) ahead of the 2010 general election.
After governing under President U Thein Sein, the USDP lost the 2015 general election to the National League for Democracy (NLD) and transferred power.
In the 2020 general election, the USDP again lost to the NLD. However, the NLD was later removed from power after being accused of failing to resolve voter list disputes, leading to the military takeover on February 1, 2021.
Subsequently, the military held the 2025 general election in three phases between December 28, 2025, and January 25, 2026, in which the USDP emerged as the winning party.
